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Fort Kent Weekend: Thursday & Friday

This weekend we had our first Eastern Cup weekend of the year! The races took place in Fort Kent, Maine, a small town less than a mile away from Canada. It was a nine hour drive to the venue, so for the first time in my JNT career, only half of our team traveled to race. We all met at the van on Thursday afternoon to pack up. Soon we were on our way, all nine of us in one van (only one van!–we haven’t all fit in one van since my freshman year!). Evan and Scottie piloted our vehicle like experts, and after a stressful van-ride for Johanna, we stopped at Whole Foods for dinner and Johanna found out that she had been accepted to Brown! We all ate dinner and continued on to the familiar Pleasant Street Inn in Waterville, Maine where we spent the night.

Friday Travel by Greta

After a hearty breakfast of granola, fruit (huge thanks to Billy’s Inn), and fire cider, we hit the road to complete our four hour drive to Eagle Lake. The ride was filled with homework and laughter – and “the question game”. We made a bathroom stop along the way at a comical rest area that housed signs suggesting possible ways for drivers to stretch out their limbs after a long car ride. Once we departed the rest area, fully stretched, we drove along through the north woods of Maine.

Even though the windows were coated in frost and ice, due to the subzero temperatures that followed us throughout the day, we caught glimpses of the snow-covered Katahdin in the distance. After a series of bumpy dirt roads, we arrived at our destination, the Eagle Lake Inn. We unloaded our bags from the back of the van, and proceeded into the warm Inn. Once inside the Inn, we changed into ski clothes and prepared to make the trek to the Fort Kent Winter Sports Center to ski!

Friday Skiby Malcolm

Once Evan had shared a few words of wisdom with the group, we headed out to preview Saturday’s sprint course—a fast, hilly, 1.4k loop—and begin to strategize for the next day’s race. We were skiing not just on real snow, but on a course that wasn’t surrounded by grass. What more could you ask for? While Scottie and Evan finished testing wax, the athletes engaged in an intense game of Up Jenkins full of secrecy, betrayal, and distrust. It was clear we were in for a fun weekend.

Twilight wax testing…

… and course preview. It got dark very early up there!

Friday was also Keelan’s birthday, complete with cupcakes and a card from home!

*** And we can’t forget… On Friday Night, Malcolm, Perrin, and John all received great news! Malcolm was accepted to NYU’s film program, Perrin to Bowdoin, and John to RIT!!! An exciting few days for FS Seniors!

Stay tuned for Saturday and Sunday race (and travel) posts, and posts from the half of the team that time trialed and trained locally!